


la vie en rose

by PhantomPierceOkamoto



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Fluff, I'm bad at tagging but basically this is pure fluff and musing, Language of Flowers, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Soulmates, as well as, hope you like it lol, romantic relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21913165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomPierceOkamoto/pseuds/PhantomPierceOkamoto
Summary: "dès que je l’aperçois / alors je sens en moi / mon cœur qui bat”“as soon as I see her / I feel inside me / my hearts which beats"rose finds out having a romantic soulmate can surprise you. (miraculous soulmate au, title from “la vie en rose” by édith piaf)
Relationships: Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43





	la vie en rose

**Author's Note:**

> Written for @kyokuro on tumblr as part of the ML Secret Santa exchange. Hope you enjoy!

There is a lot to be said about soulmates. 

They don’t have to be romantic, for one. Rose traces the vine of flowers that runs down her arms, full of love for her friends. 

Then the romantic ones don’t always work out. Her cousin fell out of love with his soulmate and found someone else. New flowers grew to cover his old ones. 

Some people don’t like others to know who they care about. She’s watched people begin to wear sweaters to cover the flowers that grew past their short sleeves. 

And some people don’t get happy endings. They tell their soulmates that their flowers grow for them, only to see an empty canvas of skin. 

However, Rose is a romantic at heart, and she tends to tell people immediately when romantic flowers begin growing on her skin—even the people they grow for. She has been turned down nicely, and she has gone on dates that haven’t worked out. Still, she believes in the flowers that put her soul on display, that she will find the one she’s meant to be with. 

Fate has a funny way of working things out. Sometimes the people you’d least expect to be together fall in love, while those who seemed so destined never even look at each other. 

And sometimes? You fall in love with your best friend.

* * *

Rose has known Juleka for a long time, and part of the reason their dynamic works so well is that Juleka can put up with Rose’s incessant chatter. She likes to speak her mind, while Juleka expresses in actions. 

Juleka doesn't think it’s foolish that Rose displays her flowers, even the golden lined ones that indicate romantic feelings. Rose respects that Juleka keeps hers covered, down to the gloves that cover her wrists. They sit together at school because Juleka keeps her focused, and Rose keeps Juleka motivated. 

In other words, they’re a perfect match in every respect. That’s what made them perfect best friends. But Rose didn’t notice the line between friends and more slowly blur. 

In hindsight, falling for Juleka shouldn’t have surprised Rose as much as it did.

* * *

Rose brushes her hair and yawns, getting ready for school. Her eyes follow her line of flowers, from almost faded to stark and bright. She always feels sad when they start to fade, as if her crushes or old friendships are fading right in front of her eyes. The flowers are really beautiful, after all. 

Still, she admires the ones that showcased her friendships, especially the irises that trail across her shoulders for Juleka. She turns in the mirror to see the line as it crosses onto her back and disappears under her shirt. She smiles, turning back around in order to finish getting ready. 

As she pulls on a sweater, she noticed a flash of yellow near her abdomen. She pushes the sweater back off, and bunches her shirt in order to see the new flower stand out starkly on her side. It’s a bright yellow daffodil, the gold lining shining in the sunlight that streams through her bedroom window. 

She looks at her own confused expression. She thinks, _I would know if I’d fallen in love, right? What’s a gold-lined flower growing for?_

She shrugs, waving it off as a small crush that developed when she passed someone she found attractive on the street. 

Pulling her sweater back on, she grabs her backpack and a piece of buttered toast from the kitchen for her walk to school. 

As she walks in, she immediately finds Juleka. “Good morning!” she exclaims, hugging her. 

Juleka smiles behind her long hair. “Good morning.” She hugs her back, gloves soft on Rose’s skin. “Did you have a good weekend with your cousin?” 

“I forgot I told you, but yes! He brought his soulmate. They’re so cute together! I love romance.” she giggles. 

“I know,” Juleka responds, smile never fading. “It’s one of the wonderful things that makes you who you are.” 

Rose laughs and blushes. Juleka always knew how to brighten her day, she notes, as they walk to class.

* * *

A week later, Rose has daffodils all over her sides and crawling down her arms. For the first time, she was considering covering her flowers—she doesn't even know who these were blooming for! She had spent all week with her friends, so she doesn't have a reasonable explanation for the explosion of growth. 

She had been forcing herself to pay close attention to all her interactions, trying to make sense of the new development. Yet somehow, it feels like nothing had changed in a while. Her friends are her friends, and she has fun with them as usual. They did look at her daffodils questioningly, as normally she would’ve been talking constantly about her new crush—difficult if she didn’t know who the damn person was. 

She puts a book into her locker before turning to follow Juleka out, stretching her limbs that would likely go numb by the end of their study session. 

Juleka listens as Rose chatters about class distractedly, trailing off as she glances down to see the daffodils a few inches lower on her arms than she remembered. 

“Yeah, who are those flowers for?” Juleka asks, abruptly. Rose chuckles nervously, not really sure what to say. 

“Oh, you know. Always the love dove right here, always crushing! You know me.” she replies, entirely avoiding the question, almost out of embarrassment. 

“I do know you, and you’re being weird,” Juleka adds, making a face at her. 

“Totally not! Anyway, do you want a snack before studying?” 

Juleka doesn't press it, but she doesn’t look happy. “Sure.” Rose sighs a little. She loves Juleka, but she isn’t really sure what to make of this situation at the moment. She figures she’ll tell Juleka when she’s ready.

* * *

It has been two weeks since Rose first noticed daffodils tinged in gold growing across her skin, her abdomen to her wrists. She began wearing long sleeves almost everywhere, still embarrassed that she can't figure out who the flowers are for.

But still, her friends always come first. So when Marinette asked her to model a dress, how could she say no? 

Marinette holds a few pins between her teeth, tightening areas in the back before she can take photos. Rose stands diligently still, humming as Marinette finishes up. 

“Okay, just a few photos will do!” she tells Rose, smiling. “Thank you so much for doing this, again.” 

“Of course, Marinette! This is nothing,” Rose waves off with a smile. She poses a little silly, to which Marinette giggles and snaps a few photos. Then Marinette guides her through some poses that she wants. 

When finished, Marinette beams. “Thanks again! Do you need help unzipping?” 

“Yes, please,” Rose agrees, turning around to let Marinette take out pins and unzip the back. Marinette’s hands pause on her lower back, and Rose turns instinctively. “Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah I just…I didn’t realize flowers can blend into each other.” Marinette touches the top of her back with a finger, trailing downwards. “Purple irises into these golden daffodils.” 

Rose furrows her eyebrows. “Blend into each other?” 

“Yeah, it’s like…the ends have blurred together into one flower which is half iris, half daffodil. It’s like a friendship turned romance or something. Who is this?” 

Rose gapes, the realization smashing into her skull like a ton of bricks. “Oh my god. I’m in love with Juleka.” 

Marinette turns her, expression shocked. “You’re in love with Juleka?” 

“Yeah I just…you know, I love my friends and I love her so I guess I didn’t notice the love go from platonic to romantic. Or something.” Rose pauses. “Oh my god. My love for Juleka is actually romantic.” 

Marinette rubs her back while Rose has a minor meltdown, suddenly analyzing her feelings and actions in the past month or so. The way she was so desperate to make Juleka smile, or how Juleka seemed to brighten the room just by being there. 

The way that sometimes when they hug, Rose doesn’t ever want to let go. 

“Oh my god. I’m in love with Juleka.” Rose repeats, taking a breath.

* * *

The thing with falling in love with your best friend: your heart feels so happy. You already loved them, and now your love has new meanings. Being around them makes you feel comfortable, but with the little flutters of the heart that come with a crush. 

The other thing with falling in love with your best friend: you are more averse to telling them. If they don’t love you back, you could ruin the perfect friendship you’ve built. If they do, and it doesn’t work out, the friendship may not return the same. And all throughout, you wonder if you actually want things to change even though your feelings are rooted more in romance now. 

Rose wasn’t really sure what to do. After all, in the past, she had never hesitated to tell her soulmate that buds had blossomed across her body for them. She had never been so afraid of rejection before, because even when things didn’t work out, Rose believed that everything would happen the way it was supposed to. 

But when she looked at her back in the mirror to see what Marinette had seen, she knew she couldn’t hide her skin forever. The daffodils grow endlessly and blend with the familiar irises, and Rose smiles, because she knows there’s no coming back from this. 

So later, with a shaky breath, she pushes the classroom door open and walks out just behind her soulmate. 

Juleka turns slightly. “You okay?” she asks. Rose nods, still a bit breathless, and tugs Juleka in the direction of the girls’ locker room by the gymnasium. 

“Do you mind if I show you something?” Rose asks, knowing she has to do this. Juleka nods, looking a bit confused, but following Rose all the same. Rose smiles, thinking about the trust between them, feeling the warmth that she had previously equated to friendship build in her stomach. 

Rose sets her stuff down on the floor as she tugs her sweater off, then turns around so her back faces Juleka. 

“You know I’m proud of the irises that represent our friendship, right?”

“Yeah,” Juleka says from behind her, sounding unsure. 

“Well,” Rose takes a deep breath and pulls off her shirt to show Juleka her back. She waits for Juleka to say something. 

“Rose?” Juleka asks, sounding a bit breathless herself. Rose pulls her shirt back down, letting Juleka see the golden daffodils painted over her arms. 

“The daffodils are for you,” Rose says, starting to ramble. “I think they’ve been growing for a long time, and I didn’t notice because it started on my back. I didn’t realize, but I think my love for you has grown in a way that I didn’t expect. I looked up some flower symbolism and daffodils usually mean change. And, well, I think my platonic love has changed.” She cuts herself off and takes a deep breath, unable to meet Juleka’s eyes. 

The silence is unbearable. Rose fiddles with her fingers, when suddenly she hears the sound of fabric shifting. She looks up slightly to see Juleka pulling off her gloves, then rolling up her sleeves, arms shaking. 

“Juleka?” Rose asks like Juleka had done before. 

“Gardenias,” Juleka whispers hurriedly, showing Rose the lines. “Hints of pink and gold. Secret love.” 

“I…” Rose blinks, feeling her cheeks heat up. “For me?” 

“For almost as long as I’ve known you,” Juleka affirms, her quiet voice shaking. “I thought you wouldn’t…because we’re friends, and that would have been enough, because I had your love in some way.” Rose doesn’t think she’s ever heard Juleka speak this much. “I’ve known for a while.” 

“I’m sorry it took me so long,” Rose responds, softly. She traces the flowers on her best friend’s arms with her trembling fingers, the happiness flooding her veins overwhelming. 

“Do you want to try being…girlfriends?” Juleka asks. 

Rose nods, looking up with the brightest smile she’s ever given. “I would love that.”

* * *

And when they walk to school hand-in-hand the next morning, short sleeves to show off their gardens despite the chilly wind, absolutely no one is surprised.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr @phantompierce-okamoto.
> 
> I think the term soulmates in this fic may not be quite accurate because it tends to mean a person you're destined for and I use it more as people that are important to you that your soul displays. Thoughts? 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed and happy holidays!
> 
> ~Phantom


End file.
